


Six of Ravens

by booksandchocolatecake



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Alternate Universe - Six of Crows Fusion, Angst, Crimes & Criminals, Dark Adam Parrish, F/M, M/M, Pining, Ronan Lynch Swears, everyone in this fic just says “be gay do crime”
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:49:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26083723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/booksandchocolatecake/pseuds/booksandchocolatecake
Summary: Adam Parrish is the most powerful criminal mastermind in the city… and the most feared. At seventeen, he’s crushed everyone and everything in his path. His secret weapon? Ronan Lynch, a talented assassin whose perfect aim never misses its mark. Few know that Adam saved Ronan from a life of slavery. Then, Adam is offered the chance to pull off the most dangerous heist of his life - with a payoff that could make him and his crew rich.A Six of Crows au where Adam is Kaz and Ronan is Inej. You don’t have to have read Six of Crows to read this fic.
Relationships: Noah Czerny/Henry Cheng, Richard Gansey III/Blue Sargent, Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish
Comments: 5
Kudos: 31





	Six of Ravens

**Author's Note:**

> For those who haven’t read Six of Crows:
> 
> Grisha - a person with magic powers.
> 
> Shu Han - a country inspired by real life China, people from there are called Shu.

Adam Parrish didn’t need a reason. Those were the words whispered on the streets of Ketterdam, in the taverns and coffeehouses, in the dark and bleeding alleys of the pleasure district known as the Barrel. The boy they called The Magician didn’t need a reason any more than he needed permission - to break a leg, sever an alliance, or change a man’s fortune with the turn of a card.

Ronan knew that better than most.

Adam was ruthless. It was a kind of ruthless Ronan had never seen before, and he had known many twisted people in the seventeen years of his life. It wasn’t a selfish kind of ruthlessness, although most that encountered Adam would claim that he was nothing if not self serving. 

It wasn’t rooted in laziness, either. The Magician was nothing like the merchers that rotted away in their own lavish purchases in the financial district. He had single handedly raised Aglionby from being one of the poorest gangs in the Barrel to the most feared criminals in Ketterdam within a year of arriving. Unlike their leader, a man named Artemus who preferred to play by the traditional gang rules and let Aglionby fall to nothing under his leadership, Adam had made it abundantly clear that he was unafraid to get his hands dirty.

No, the unique brand of ruthlessness that belonged to Adam Parrish was something else entirely. It was cold and chilling and unforgiving. His wrath was something that could send a shiver down your spine on a cold winter’s day and keep a child up at night and make the most hardened soldier beg for forgiveness. Sometimes, Ronan found himself glancing sideways when he was with Adam to make sure the other boy hadn’t changed his mind about Ronan and stabbed him in the back. 

Ronan was almost terrified by Adam. Not of Adam, as such. Ronan could defend himself well. He was the best sharpshooter he knew, and he wasn’t unskilled in other forms of defense - that was why Adam had hired him in the first place. He was fearful of what Adam could do, if given the opportunity. When watching Adam at work, it felt like he could make the entire world bow at his feet if he wished. The true question on the edge of everyone’s lips was if Adam would settle for Ketterdam or set his sights beyond the smoky city.

The things Ronan had done as Adam’s right hand would make any reasonable person uncomfortable. If his family knew, they might disown him. Assuming they were still alive. He was raised in The Wandering Isle on stories passed down through generations of heroes of old and knights and good people. At no point in any of those tales were the kind hearted children kidnapped by slavers for their powers and forced to become the worst possible version of themselves. This godforsaken city had made Ronan stop caring. Ketterdam had changed him. It changed everyone. He didn’t bat an eyelid at shooting a man at Adam’s order. Who gave a shit anymore? There were no innocents in Ketterdam. It was kill or be killed. Ronan knew which one he preferred. 

Ronan examined his twin pistols and strapped them to his belt. He liked to name his revolvers. He felt it gave them more personality. People didn’t appreciate the beauty of weapons enough. Each gun was unique and deserved its own name. His original gun, Chainsaw, was a simple, slick black. If you looked closely enough, you could see a pattern that resembled the texture of feathers. 

Opal was silver and engraved with vines and leaves. Ronan had bought her recently, and was still getting to grips with her quirks. She was more temperamental than Chainsaw, and seemed to require a regular oiling. But it was worth it. Ronan had fallen for her the second he’d seen her in a shop window, and Adam bought her for him the next day. They’d been walking to a meeting with a rival gang with Adam’s second in command, Gansey, when Ronan stopped Adam to go into the weapon store to look at the pistol again. He couldn’t afford her. Ronan didn’t earn his own money - he was in debt to Aglionby and was bound to work for them by a contract he’d signed out of desperation. 

Adam saw Ronan eyeing the revolver and bought it for him without a word, only saying once they left the shop that he couldn’t leave his best investment without a worthy weapon. That was Adam in a nutshell. He didn’t have any friends. Only allies. They were similar, in that way. Ronan preferred to have a small number of people he actually liked than be forced to interact with others he could barely bring himself to care about. Friendship didn’t get you anywhere in the Barrel. Making smart decisions did.

Ronan saw Adam and a few Aglionby members gathered in the square. Beside Adam was Gansey, who would be accompanying Adam for tonight’s parlay. They both stood out in their black suits and ties. Ronan made his way over to the group and caught Adam’s eye to tell the other boy he had arrived. Adam nodded almost imperceptibly and looked away. Ronan had to be discreet. Adam had long suspected someone in Aglionby was working for the other side, and it was likely they would be here tonight. It would be counterintuitive to let them know that Ronan would be hidden in the shadows, ready to shoot anyone who broke the rules of parlay. 

He kept to the dark patches where the lanterns didn’t illuminate the street and the moon didn’t glow, staying unseen. He’d spent years teaching himself the art of secrecy since he joined Aglionby as Adam’s personal protector. Gansey and Ronan were Adam’s shadows. They lurked behind every corner and listened to the whispers in the darkest alleys of Ketterdam. They gathered information and protected Adam from every possible threat. They heard everything. Adam had an uncanny knack for convincing people to do anything for him, no questions asked, and Gansey and Ronan were no exception. 

Gansey was the charmer. His every word dripped honey and casual charm. He had a quality about him that made people trust him unconditionally and let their guard down. He made people relax and smile and think ‘one more drink couldn’t hurt.’ It was Gansey’s job to see what others looked past. He would draw Adam’s enemies in and make them trust him, then find skeletons in their closets that they believed would never be found. The information was relayed back to Adam and the next time they encountered Adam, he would threaten to reveal their darkest secrets if they didn’t do his will. Sometimes, it was in the form of a mysterious letter that arrived at the door. If he was feeling particularly petty, he would corner them in person. No one knew how The Magician gathered the secrets of everyone who stood in his way. Only that it was always enough to send them running for their lives.

Ronan was the silent assassin lurking in the shadows. He killed every threat without a second thought. He hid in the dark just behind Adam everywhere he went, his pistols constantly at the ready. He was always on the lookout for a threat, if Adam didn’t spot it first. Adam knew how to defend himself, and didn’t need any help ending the lives of the many unfortunate who tried their luck at killing the most notorious Barrel boss in Ketterdam. He was the most brutal killer Ronan knew, and that was saying something in the Barrel. 

The first time Ronan met Adam, in that cramped dark room with the hundreds of other Grisha, when Ronan shot his captor with a stolen gun and escaped, finding Adam watching from outside, he said Ronan had the footsteps of a ghost. He claimed he had never seen someone with such a perfect shot. Ronan was hired and had signed away his freedom to Aglionby within the day. It wasn’t like he had much choice - he was a fourteen year old alone in a strange city that enslaved and persecuted Grisha, with no money or skills to his name. 

Adam was only a year older than Ronan, but at the time, he’d seemed like a savior from the heavens. He later learned that Adam was watching him from the second he was brought to the city, and the gun was placed in the crowded room as a test of Ronan’s skill. Adam had not been passing the warehouse by coincidence. Ronan didn’t like to think about what would have happened if he had failed. It was no secret that Adam abandoned those who did not prove useful to him.

By that point, Ronan had already lost his faith. He’d spoken to the other Grisha and heard their tragic tales. The stories of good winning against evil he’d grown up believing wholeheartedly were fading, replaced by mistrust and fear. He knew putting himself in dept to Adam was the only way to stay alive. Adam was ambitious. He had plans and talked of gaining control of gangs and killing merchers and slowly building power. A year later, they met Gansey and the trinity was complete. Together, Adam and Ronan took over Aglionby and then all of Ketterdam. 

Ronan was inexplicably bound to Adam in a way that was so much more than loyalty. Everything he’d done in the last three years, he’d done it with Adam. They were a team. Ronan would trust Adam with his life if it came to it. He knew how incredibly stupid it was to place his trust in Adam Parrish. Adam would betray him without a second thought for personal gain. He cared for no one. Ronan only wished his feelings for the most dangerous man in Ketterdam were that simple.

It was rare to see Adam without Ronan or Gansey by his side - and if they weren’t, Ronan was probably watching carefully from a rooftop, just out of sight.

Ronan crept into a dark corner and watched Gansey attempt to make conversation with Adam whilst they waited to enter the Exchange. 

“I heard a Shu ship was spotted at First Harbour. What do you think that’s about? From a political perspective, it doesn’t make much sense. Do you think they need to borrow money from the Merchant Council?”

Adam raised an eyebrow. “It doesn’t matter, as long as it doesn’t affect my stocks in Fifth Harbour. Those rich bastards on the Council can claw each other to death for all I care.”

“That would certainly make it a lot easier for you if they simply got rid of each other.”

Adam let out a sharp laugh. “They’re never going to stop squabbling. They do it for their entire lives. Then it will be their sons arguing and so on and so on. That’s how it is with those merchers.”

“Well, what are you going to do about it?”

Adam looked at Gansey incredulously. The shorter boy shrank back slightly but regained his confident posture.

“Gansey, I know you didn’t just ask me to reveal my plans in a public place where anyone could hear. Might be some asshole hired by Kavinsky listening.” He glanced around. “Isn’t Ronan supposed to be somewhere? Assuming he hasn’t decided to pursue his true calling as a permanent annoyance.”

Ronan smirked. He lifted Chainsaw and sent a bullet flying. He focused on the metal ball, directing it so it landed on the cobbled street, just in front of Adam’s shoe.

The gang members gathered turned to stare at the bullet. Unsure of what to do, they fixed their gazes on Adam, waiting for further instruction. Had their leader just been attacked? Did they need to be ready for a fight? Was there a hostile intruder to be dealt with appropriately?

Adam rolled his eyes and turned to the staring gang members. “Nothing to see here.”

Slowly, they got back to what they were doing. It was an unspoken rule in Aglionby that no one questioned Adam’s authority, unless they wanted to be dead in a ditch by the morning. If he said there was nothing to see, there was nothing to see.

Ronan tried to prevent himself from bursting out laughing and revealing his position. He didn’t entirely succeed. 

Adam looked directly into the alley where Ronan was crouched and gave him the finger. Ronan stuck out his tongue and made a crude gesture in response. Adam mouthed “F--k you.” Ronan only grinned maniacally, feeling vindicated.

Adam crossed his arms and returned to his conversation with Gansey, sighing in a way that was nearly world-weary.

“Anyone could hear.” he reiterated. “Like that bastard.”

It was clear that Gansey was finding this hilarious and was trying his best not to show his amusement. 

“If you refer to Ronan as a bastard loud enough, you should be on the lookout for another bullet. Possibly landing somewhere more sensitive this time.”

Adam glared at him.

A man appeared in the square, closely followed by two heavily muscled guards. Ronan could knock both of them down in a second. They looked intimidating, but all that weight did nothing when they were bleeding out from twin bullets buried in their chests.

“Adam Parrish.”

“Colin Greenmantle.”

The Aglionby members began to form a protective barrier around Adam. Ronan was sure he wished he could wave them away, but for now, a shield may prove to be useful.

“Shall we enter?” asked Adam.

Greenmantle, the leader of a rival small but rapidly rising gang that had been trying to get their hands on Fifth Harbour since Adam bought it, nodded.

“Weapons.” said one of Greenmantle’s goons.

Adam handed over a knife from his suit jacket pocket and a small black pistol. He let the goon pat him down thoroughly and then do the same to Gansey. They had no idea that Adam could beat every one of them in hand to hand combat if he wanted to. Besides, he had three knives hidden in his shoes and two others on the inside of his belt. Adam Parrish was never completely unprotected. 

Adam followed Greenmantle and his guards into the exchange, Gansey on his heels. 

With the attention of the other gang on Adam, Ronan found a drainpipe and pulled himself up onto the roof of a closed shop, using only his calloused hands as support. He hoisted himself onto the rain covered roof and dried his hands on his leather trousers. The roof was slippery, and he crept across to the edge. It was a short gap between this building and the outer circle of The Exchange. He jumped, bracing himself for impact as he landed on the other side feet first. Ronan melted into the unlit section of the roof shrouded in shadows and watched Adam and Gansey enter.

The Exchange was an outdoor structure that could have once been an amphitheatre. In the day, it served as a place for businessmen to meet and trade their wares. At night, it was a neutral ground for parlays between criminals from the darkest corners of Ketterdam. They paid the authorities enough that they looked the other way if gunshots or screaming were reported by local residents, or the traders arrived the next morning and found bloodstains and mismatched body parts. 

“We’re very grateful you and Mr Gansey decided to meet with us today and-”

“Get to the point.” snapped Adam. “What do you want?”

Greenmantle stumbled over his words, trying to find the right way to phrase his request.

“Money? Shares? People? I’m not giving anything away unless your payment is pretty damn good.”

“Well, there are a few things we thought we might-”

Adam scoffed. “Please. As if you haven’t been interested in Fifth Harbour since you decided to make mommy and daddy proud by becoming a failed gang leader.”

Greenmantle ignored Adam’s thinly veiled jab. “You are correct, Mr Parrish. That was one of the terms of the agreement we drew up.” 

“I’m not handing it over. You might as well give up now.” Adam sighed. “What is it you want to offer me in return? I don’t imagine you have much money to spare.”

“Mr Parrish, if you come over here, I will show you. Now, keep in mind, this is a very rare piece of merchandise, so I ask that you’re careful and respectful.”

“What kind of valuable object could you have got your hands on anyway? Don’t even try to scam me. If this is a trick, you should already be running.”

Greenmantle flinched but continued to insist on the value of his payment. He picked up a black briefcase and held it out to Adam. Adam reached forward and took it. He examined it for a minute or so before going to open it. Greenmantle stared expectantly and began to back away, without taking his eyes off Adam. Adam put his hand on the handle and the other man was nearly trembling with anticipation. 

Adam swung the briefcase in the air and hit Greenmantle in the face. He let out a scream of pain and rubbed his bruised cheek, wincing. Adam strode forward and grabbed the collar of his shirt, pinning him to the wall. Greenmantle protested loudly, trying to push out of Adam’s grip, to no avail. 

“Do you think I’m stupid?” snarled Adam.

Greenmantle shook his head vigorously, terror in his eyes, and Adam tightened his grip on the taller man’s neck, squeezing. Greenmantle whimpered weakly and Adam’s expression hardened. He released his throat, keeping his other hand tightly on Greenmantle’s collar so he stayed held against the wall. Greenmantle panted, taking in great gulps of air. He made a futile attempt to run and Adam wrapped his arms around his windpipe. He choked for a second, spluttering and gasping, before giving up. Adam relaxed his grip and reached into one of his boots, pulling out a long dagger. 

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” spluttered Greenmantle. His eyes filled with tears, desperation coating his every word. “I- I’ll do anything! Please!” 

This only made Adam’s devilish smirk widen. He narrowed his eyes and took a step towards Greenmantle, who was now shaking with terror.

Adam lifted his dagger to Greenmantle’s throat and placed it’s razor sharp edge against his windpipe. Greenmantle tried to speak but was frozen in fear, and his words came out as a pathetic moan. Adam made a low growl in the back of his throat and pressed the knife in. He made a shallow cut in the sensitive skin at the bottom of Greenmantle’s neck. A single trickle of blood dripped down his throat. He hissed.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t recognise a bomb?” hissed Adam. “You underestimate me.” He raised an eyebrow. “What was your plan? Kill me then steal Fifth Harbour? Idiotic. You’re morons. But you most of all.”

Greenmantle’s guards attempted to throw a punch at Adam. He made a half-hearted gesture with his hand and Ronan shot each of them in turn.

Adam pushed the dagger further into Greenmantle’s throat and he let out a strangled cry. 

Gansey, who had been standing in the corner whilst this occurred, picked up the briefcase and moved away from Adam and Greenmantle. He looked slightly green, as if he was about to be sick. He’d always had less of a stomach for violence than Adam and Ronan. Unlike most of the other Aglionby members, he had grown up in a protected life as the son of one of the most wealthy merchers in Ketterdam. When he was fifteen, his entire family was murdered in front of him by a notorious hit man, his beloved older sister last. He managed to escape by the skin of his teeth, only getting away by jumping out of an open window from the second floor. 

Determined to avenge his family, he rapidly learnt to adapt the skills he’d been taught his entire childhood to make him into a mercher worthy of his family’s substantial fortune into tricks that could turn him into a successful con man. He quickly rose in the Barrel, and Adam soon decided to recruit him. 

When he finally found The Gray Man, the assassin who had been hired to murder his parents and sister, five months after joining Aglionby, it was the only time Ronan had seen Gansey filled with pure rage. He asked Adam to be left alone with the hit man. Ronan had no idea what exactly had occurred that day, but when Gansey returned, his shirtsleeves were rolled up and his clothes drenched with blood. He had a manic look in his eyes that Ronan had never seen on him. He refused to leave his room for a day and didn’t go on a job for the next month. 

When he returned to his position, he was changed. He had a maturity and sobriety about him that he hadn’t had before. He took the position of Adam’s second in command and never talked about the day he came back to Monmouth, the abandoned warehouse Adam had converted into Aglionby’s house, covered in The Gray Man’s guts, again.

Adam violently pulled the dagger out of Greenmantle’s throat and wiped it with his hands. Blood poured from the open wound and Greenmantle collapsed to the floor in a sorry heap. He rushed to cover the tear with his shaking hands in a futile attempt to contain the flow. 

Gansey handed Adam the briefcase. Realising what Adam was going to do, Ronan scrambled off the roof of The Exchange. He slid down a pipe and landed on his feet in a dark alley just outside the main square. Adam opened the briefcase and threw it onto the floor. He and Gansey rushed out of The Exchange, leaving a dying Greenmantle and the two bodies of his guards. As they watched from the square, there was a loud explosion and The Exchange burst into orange flames. Everyone in the square stared. Adam only watched The Exchange burn with a self satisfied grin.

***

Ronan followed Adam from the shadows as he walked from the parlay for half an hour before he stopped at an empty cafe and said,

“Ronan, I know you’re there.”

Adam had a knack for knowing when Ronan was watching him. Ronan guessed it was from years of studying him. Adam studied everyone until he understood everything about them, from their deepest fear to their darkest secret.

Ronan melted out of the darkness and took a seat next to Adam at an outdoor table. He put his feet up on the table and mindlessly threw a menu onto the ground.

“Shit, Parrish. That was brutal, even for you.”

“It taught them a lesson. There were bound to be people watching. They’ll spread the word, and people will know not to mess with me again.”

“I certainly won’t if I want to keep my throat nicely closed.”

“As if you weren’t shooting bullets at my feet an hour ago.”

Ronan leaned back in his chair, smirking. “What can I say, Parrish? I’m an f--king changed man.”

Adam raised an eyebrow. “Whatever you say, Mr ‘I’m such a good shot that I’ve never missed once in my life.’”

“You’re the one who hired me as your protector.”

“And I’ve regretted that every day since.”

Ronan snorted and picked up the abandoned menu, pretending to read it. “So, what does Adam Parrish want to order? Blood and guts smoothie, perhaps?”

Adam snatched the menu from Ronan. “Then I assume Ronan won’t-tell-me-his-last-name-because-he’s-a-secretive-bitch wants a pie made entirely of ice and stone, since that’s all that’s in his chest.”

Ronan cackled so loudly the ravens gathered on a nearby roof scattered. 

“Gansey’s supposed to be the one with a heart, anyway.” He smirked. “I can be as much of a shit as I like.”

“Looks like you’re really taking advantage of that perk.”

“Would I be a true criminal if I wasn’t?”

Adam crossed his arms and looked Ronan up and down. “Don’t act like I haven’t seen you spouting those proverbs about good and evil when you first arrived.”

Ronan groaned. “I was barely a child, Parrish.”

“And now you’re just a man-child?”

Ronan flipped Adam his middle finger “Eat shit.”

Ronan got up and gestured to his pistols, strapped to his belt. “I need to give these babies a clean back at Monmouth. You coming?”

Adam shook his head. “I have some other business to attend to.”

“What, the shit-eating I suggested?” Ronan grinned. “Very tasty. Have fun.”

Adam didn’t respond, but gave Ronan a look of pure indignation. He turned away and began to head down the street, leaving Adam watching him walk away from the empty cafe, a somber look in his eyes.


End file.
